He wasn’t.

At least, not entirely. He still had enough sway with the board and the upper level management to prevent me from really delving into technology the way I wanted to.

“Hey, where’d you go? You can’t zone out on me now.”

I lowered my gaze back to Deborah, who had turned to face me.

The worry in her eyes unsettled me. I bent low, pressing a kiss to her naturally pink lips. “I’m right here, princess.”

She pushed out a breath. “Good, because they’re here.”

I spun around to see my parents following behind the hostess as she walked toward us. I moved to Deborah’s side, my hand resting at the small of her back reassuringly.

“Your brother’s not with them,” she whispered.

I frowned. “If there’s one thing you can rely on Jason to be, it’s late.” And a complete let down in all areas of his life. But that's a story for another day.

“Son,” my father greeted, a grim expression on his face as he huffed, sounding partially out of breath from the short distance of the restaurant’s entrance to the table where we stood.

I nodded. “Father.”

“Robert,” my mother greeted more warmly.

I kissed my mother’s cheek as she moved in for a hug.

I took a step back, again wrapping my arm around Deborah’s waist again. “Mother, Father, please meet Deborah Tate, my girl—” I frowned, realizing how much I hated the word girlfriend. It sounded so juvenile. Like the word belonged on the lips of a teenage boy introducing his crush for the first time to his parents. That wasn’t this. While the words went unsaid, I was introducing my future to my family.

“My woman.”

I ignored the gasps from my mother and Deborah herself. However, I didn’t ignore the dip that occurred in my father’s eyebrows. My gaze narrowed on him as his eyes drifted downward, following the length of my arm as it stretched behind Deborah’s back.

“Deborah, it’s so nice to meet you,” my mother stated, breaking the brief moment of tension.

“Pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Townsend.” Deborah extended her hand.

My mother, on the other hand, opened both of her arms, pulled Deborah into a hug, and pressed a kiss to her cheek.

Deborah appeared surprised at first but soon leaned into the embrace.

My mother’s response even surprised me a little but I realized this was the first time, ever, that I was introducing a woman to my family. She realized how serious this was.

“Deborah,” my father began, a haughty tone in his voice.

“Thank you for taking the time from your busy schedule to have dinner with us, Mr. Townsend,” Deborah stated.

He nodded curtly. “Let’s sit, shall we?”

I moved around the table to hold out Deborah’s chair for her. When I saw my father sit before my mother, I did the same for her. While I had some of my own hang-ups about my mother, she was actually a sweet woman. One who I never fully believed deserved the mistreatment by my father.